NWS FLDWAV Model Application to the River Forecasting of the Red River of the North

The National Weather Service (NWS) one-dimensional, unsteady flow dynamic routing model FLDWAV has been applied to the Red River of the North and is being implemented into the NWS River Forecast System (NWSRFS) for real-time river forecasting. The model was calibrated using the 1997 historic flood data and verified using 1978, 1979, 1996 and 1999 data. The results show that the FLDWAV model is capable of modeling the complex hydraulic effects experienced in the 1997 flood, such as the significant backwater, flood plain water storage and drainage conduit blockage in very large and flat flood plain areas.